Cheshire
by Dravas
Summary: Dodo refuses to admit Jack as the King. He decides to free the "true Queen," but he needs Cheshire's evaporating act to release It from Its prison. The Cat refuses to help Dodo, until he lies to her about Jack murdering Hatter, who was once her lover.


Here Kitty Kitty

Owl was trembling as she moved through the forest. She held the shotgun close to her chest as she stepped over roots and ducked under branches. Dodo and Duck were not far behind her, but they had to stay out of sight or else this would all be for nothing. They only had one shot at capturing this creature and if they missed, she would disappear and they would have one hell of a time trying to catch her again.

'Sending an owl to catch a cat,' she thought nervously, 'this is killing my nerves.'

She moved as quickly as she could without stumbling over roots and the fallen branches that littered the forest's floor. She clenched her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering.

The creature she was playing bait for was not particularly terrifying. In fact, the creature they were looking for would not hurt a fly unless she was pushed to be violent. She was a mischievous one, and her condition helped her to be a trickster. She was a phase shifter, one of the last of her kind. She could become invisible, phase through solid objects, and levitate. She was called a Ghost at time because of her evaporating skills, but her real name was Cheshire.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this surprise visit?" a female voice asked.

Owl whirled around, but saw nothing. "I'm the one with the gun. I'm the one with the gun," she kept repeating to herself, but it was not doing much to calm her wired nerves.

"A gun? Useless against someone who can evaporate," a cheerful voice laughed as a young ginger hair appeared on a branch above Owl. She was dressed in a pair of camouflage pants and a black tank top. She was stroking her tail as her golden eyes fell on Owl, who raised her shotgun.

"Do…do…Dodo wants to ta…talk to you," Owl stuttered.

Cheshire laughed. "So I've heard," she responded, "but I don't plan on doing anything for him."

Just then, Dodo jumped out from behind a tree, tossing a net over Cheshire's head with a typical "gotcha!"

Cheshire groaned. "Do you really think a net can hold me, Dodo?" she growled. She pulled the net off with ease. Cheshire proceeded to vanish.

"Try again, love," her voice echoed.

"We need your help, Catherine," Dodo said. "Please."

Cheshire reappeared only an inch from where he was standing. She held three small blades, one between each finger, to his throat. "Why would I help you?" she demanded. "You kicked me out of the Library! You left me to die in the woods with the Jabberwocky."

Dodo nodded to Owl, who pulled the backpack off of her back. She opened the sack and pulled out a very familiar hat. Cheshire turned and immediately recognized it. She also knew that the owner would never go anywhere without it.

"He was killed," Owl began, "by the new King."

Cheshire remained perfectly still, absorbing the image before her. "What do you want from me?" she demanded through her tightly clenched teeth.

.

**Somewhere else**:

The doorbell rang, but neither Alice nor Hatter was planning to answer the door. The doorbell rang again. Then again and again until the ringer pushed the button in a quick succession. This forced Hatter to drag his ass out of bed. He walked down the hallway to the door, grumbling about how he would never see Alice naked at this rate, and reluctantly opened the door.

To his surprise and dismay, Jack, the very King of Wonderland, was standing in the small doorway.

"Can I come in?" he asked in such a proper and royal tone that it made Hatter sick. Even though he got the girl in the end, Hatter still couldn't stand Jack.

"Jack?" Alice asked from the bedroom door.

"Hello Alice," Jack greeted her with a pleasant nod.

Alice walked up to him. "I don't mean to be rude, but what the hell are you doing here? Don't you have a country to run?" she asked.

Jack hesitated. "Yes, well I seem to be having a bit of trouble with that," he said as he looked at Hatter, "and I need your help."

Hatter's eyes grew wide. "Me? Why me?" he asked in confusion.

Once again, Jack hesitated. "There have been a few problems with the old rebels. Dodo and his gang in particular," he stated.

"Well, what have they done?" Alice asked.

"They've called on an old friend whom Dodo banished from the Library," Jack chose his words very carefully.

Hatter's jaw dropped in amazement. "Cheshire," Hatter exclaimed. "Dodo dug up Cheshire. Wow, I don't believe that she would go along with any plan that Dodo cooked up. She hated him from day one."

"Who's Cheshire?" asked Alice.

Jack ignored her. "Yes well apparently you're wrong because she is helping Dodo free 'it' from 'its' cage."

Hatter glared at him. "She would never set 'it' free! She hates that bitch more than any of us! 'It' killed off the rest of her kind."

"Who is Cheshire? What is it?" Alice exploded.

Hatter sighed. "Catherine Josephine Cheshire," he answered. "To you she would be the famous Cheshire Cat. Dodo kicked her out of the Library for disobeying orders."

"She tried to free the oysters from the casino," he added to Jack, who groaned.

"Yes, yes, my mother was a terrible person but nothing compared to her sister. The 'it' is the dreaded White Queen," he explained.

"Wait, THE white Queen!" Alice exclaimed.

"Yes, but she's not the gentle creature you read about in your books," Jack said. "She was cruel, sadistic, and so she was locked away by the White King."

"If she was so evil, why would Dodo want to release her?"

Jack sighed. "Dodo believes that she is the rightful heir to the throne, despite her cruelty."

"So why do you need our help?" Alice asked.

Jack smiled at her as if she was a naïve child. "Actually, I need his help," he said as he pointed to Hatter. "You know Cheshire best. You can reason with her."

Hatter's face hardened. "What will you do with her once you've got her?" he demanded coldly.

Jack paused. "Imprisonment," he said.

Hatter's eyes narrowed. "Nope, can't help you. Good day to you," he said as he tried to shut the door, but Jack kept it open with his foot.

"Jack," Alice exclaimed as he pushed the door open.

"I'm sorry Alice, but if the White Queen gets out all of Wonderland will fall," he said apologetically.

"If you catch Cheshire, won't Dodo just get someone else to get the Queen out?" she asked innocently.

"No," Hatter growled as he pushed passed Alice and walked back to the bedroom. He paced back and forth in front of the door.

"Cheshire is able to phase through objects. She can get the Queen out without breaking the spell that's on the door," he explained. "She can also get out of prison very easily," he added to Jack.


End file.
